U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Chair Michael Selig said that in the coming decade, the magnitude of changes in financial markets may exceed the combined total of past decades, and regulators must plan ahead for large-scale tokenization and 24/7 trading. (Backgrounder: The SEC rolls out a 5-year innovation exemption! Tokenized stock on-chain trading officially launches.) (Additional context: The SEC is preparing for 24/7 trading! Chair Atkins: Crypto markets don’t sleep—U.S. stocks must follow.) On September 23, CFTC Chair Michael Selig said at the U.S. Treasury market conference at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York that the magnitude of changes in financial markets over the next decade could surpass the sum of the changes seen over past decades, and regulators must plan ahead for large-scale tokenization, on-chain finance, and 24/7 trading. Large-scale tokenization is the biggest variable in the next decade In his remarks at the conference, Selig noted that as tokenization, on-chain finance, and 24/7 trading accelerate, the U.S. market is at a critical point of structural change. He said regulators need to proactively adjust existing market structures to address challenges brought by new technologies such as blockchain and artificial intelligence. “Over the next decade, changes in financial markets may exceed the combined total of the past few decades.” Selig emphasized that the CFTC is not staying in an observation phase; it has already launched a series of concrete actions. The CFTC is taking action: 24/7 trading, stablecoins, and eligible collateral Over the past year, the CFTC has issued guidance on 24/7 trading for the energy derivatives market and sought public comment. This February, the agency also expanded eligible collateral to include stablecoins issued by National Trust Bank, an important milestone for stablecoins to enter the core infrastructure of traditional finance. Selig said the CFTC will also seek more ways to encourage market participants, exchanges, and clearinghouses to adopt stablecoins responsibly. He also noted that the entire Trump administration has laid a foundation for the U.S. market to maintain its global leadership through measures such as embracing innovation, encouraging competition, and applying reasonable regulation. Sister agencies move in parallel: SEC innovation exemptions and a CFTC forum go hand in hand In parallel with the CFTC’s efforts, the sister agency—the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)—last week issued a highly anticipated “innovation exemption,” making room for on-chain trading of tokenized stocks. The exemption period lasts five years and allows qualified platforms to trade tokenized U.S.-listed stocks on public, permissionless blockchains through authorized AMMs and liquidity pools. After an overall regulatory bill for the crypto industry was stalled in both the House and Senate, the two agencies are each advancing their respective agendas. On the CFTC side, this month it will host a frontier forum series with roundtable discussions; the first session will focus on artificial intelligence and AI-agent finance, showing that regulators’ attention to new technologies has expanded beyond tokenization into AI-driven trading ecosystems. Related coverage SEC rolls out a 5-year innovation exemption! Tokenized stock on-chain trading officially goes live SEC is preparing for 24/7 trading! Chair Atkins: Crypto markets don’t sleep—U.S. stocks must follow “CFTC Chair: Large-scale tokenization is coming—changes in financial markets over the next decade may exceed the sum of the past” was first published on BlockTempo (動區動趨- the most influential blockchain news media).